Henry Slade inspires dominant Exeter to thrashing of Harlequins

The stage play recounting Exeter’s glorious rise to becoming Prem and Champions Cup winners just finished down the road, and here was a dominant Chiefs performance to evoke those halcyon days. If Rob Baxter’s side continue to improve on this dismantling of Harlequins the show’s script may even require an update. The hosts welcomed two Australia internationals, Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper, into the fold for their debuts while the familiar face of Henry Slade contributed 23 points – two tries, five conversions and a penalty – in a consummate individual performance.

The thick cloud and driving rain that settled over Devon in the morning made the sun a distant memory: perhaps not what those two Wallabies hoped for on debut. The forecast, at least, was for improvement as the afternoon wore on. Marcus Smith’s boot had engineered a much-needed first Prem win of the season for Quins against Saracens last weekend, but his opening contributions were to kick a restart out on the full after Slade’s opening penalty for Exeter, then to slip on the sodden turf when attempting to kick a penalty from hand. Home fans were suitably amused at the flashy fly-half’s lack of accuracy.

“He was a little bit off today, wasn’t he?” the Quins senior coach, Jason Gilmore, said of Smith, who had appeared to reignite his battle for England’s No 10 jersey with Fin Smith by toying with Sarries. “From the first kick-off, he didn’t strike that ball great. And how he played last week to this week – it’s opposite ends of the spectrum that he’ll be disappointed with.”

Harvey Skinner scores Exeter’s third try under pressure from Tyrone Green. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Ikitau – nickname “Flickitau” – was just one of the talented backs eager to get hands on the ball: how he combined on debut with a creative force such as Slade promised to be fascinating, but the first quarter descended into an error-strewn, rainswept slugfest.

After 27 minutes, though, Slade’s ability to switch the point of attack created the first try. The hosts bashed up the middle for a few phases before the outside-centre spotted Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the right and sent over a fine cross-kick. The England wing sprinted in for his sixth try of the season, drawing level with Noah Caluori of Saracens, whose five tries demolished Sale on Saturday.

That round-three win for Quins may have felt like the start of something but they were swiftly staring down the barrel against an Exeter side who only won four times in the Prem last season. Ikitau passed to his midfield comrade, Slade, who had a clear run under the posts, sending the sizeable crowd barmy. It was perfectly timed pass by Ikitau and hinted at the understanding he and Slade may build – at least when international duty does not interfere. “Two quality players. World-class,” said the Exeter forwards coach, Ross McMillan. “Why would they not enjoy playing with each other?”

Ikitau celebrated passionately as his teammate swan-dived over, Slade booted another conversion for 17-0: by half-time it was 24-0 after Harvey Skinner’s chip and chase score and another metronomic Slade kick.

“I didn’t expect this,” said one Chiefs supporter at half-time, and frankly neither did anyone else. If Quins thought it could not get any worse they were wrong. Greg Fisilau went over in the corner four minutes after the break: bonus point secured. When Smith sent another kick out on the full, the delighted crowd were baying for Harlequins blood, Slade and Feyi-Waboso even seizing the opportunity to whip them up further.

Smith continued to splutter, going for gaps that weren’t there. Ikitau and Slade, in contrast, were enjoying each other’s company while Ethan Roots, the combative openside flanker, was turning in a player-of-the-match display in the Chiefs’ engine room.

Hooper, the Australian blindside flanker, looked sprightly and not a bit jetlagged before being withdrawn to a warm, appreciative ovation from home fans. After Fisilau’s try early in the second half, though, the rampant hosts were held scoreless until the stroke of full-time.

Cadan Murley of Quins was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on on 69 minutes, followed a few minutes later by the replacement Harry Browne for a high shot. Bachuki Tchumbadze had earlier been shown a yellow card for the Chiefs, too, but Slade turned the screw on 13-man opponents with a beautifully timed close-range dive over the line, followed by a sweet conversion to end it. Looking west, after all the grim weather, a hint of blue sky appeared among the clouds. The sun may yet shine again on Sandy Park.